Chaffinch Photo: © Andy Marquis (visit site)

There is little historical information about the Chaffinch. Smith calls it 'resident, tolerably common.' Dobson says little about the Chaffinch in Guernsey apart from that it is very common in winter and congregates in flocks often of enormous size. Dobsons notes that flocks in winter in Alderney were perhaps more irregular than on the other Channel Islands due to the smaller area under cultivation. As with many common species, it has been very poorly documented.

Chaffinches are today resident and tolerably common as Smith described. It was found breeding in all but one squares in the 1989-91 GBBS and, in summer, is a common feature of gardens, parks, woods and anywhere with trees.

Large numbers pass through the islands in autumn. Only large flocks tend to get reported to La Société Guernseiaise and the distribution of these is shown below. Peak passage takes place from mid-October onwards and very large flocks (100+) of birds can be seen passing through the island. Although these records are most often reported from coastal headlands, large numbers of birds pass through inland area. In winter numbers vary but flocks of 100+ birds are often seen in weedy fields and other seed rich areas. Flocks of up to 4-500 birds have been recorded but not in recent years. In some years, such as 1998, very few flocks are reported but in others large numbers can be found across the island.

In 1983, very large numbers passed through the islands and several thousand were present at the Silbe Nature Reserve where hundreds were ringed over the course of a few days. On 15 October 1989, 500 birds were seen flying over Pleinmont and the next day thousands were seen flying south-west over the same site. This list is not exhaustive but indicated that on a few days in some years, heavy passage can occur. Often these flocks are predominately one or other sex.